Brussels, October 8th, 2022 (CPA).- The second vice-president of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Didier Manara Linga, who is staying in Brussels, has made public the five countries selected by his institution for the enrollment and identification of Congolese voters abroad, during the exchanges he had, Thursday in the banquet hall of the DRC embassy in Belgium, with Congolese nationals of this country around the participation of the Congolese diaspora to the ongoing electoral process in the DRC.
These are South Africa, Belgium, Canada, France and the USA
According to him, these countries were chosen according to the criteria of ease of movement of experts and transport of electoral material, while the countries bordering the DRC were not taken into account because of the porosity of the national borders. . To do this, a call for applications will be launched, when the time comes, for the recruitment of electoral staff, who will be trained in the same way as the observers to the polls. As for voter registration, only Congolese who have retained their nationality will be eligible. This criterion conforms to the Constitution of the DRC which enshrines the exclusivity of Congolese nationality. “Congolese nationality is one and exclusive. No one can hold it concurrently with another”, specifies the mother law. However, the INEC authorized the enrollment of people aged at least 16, because they will total 18 years and over on the date of the last local and municipal elections in 2024, said Didier Manara. Cumulatively, he said, voter candidates must also present a valid residence certificate or residence permit.
It should be recalled that the INEC is continuing the consultations it has begun outside the DRC with a view to concretizing the wish of the President of the Republic, Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, that of actively involving Congolese living abroad in the ongoing electoral process in the country. To this end, it has deployed various teams responsible for carrying out identification in anticipation of the enrollment and identification of voters abroad. The 2nd vice-president of the electoral center is part of the delegation dispatched to South Africa, Belgium, Canada, the United States and France. This deployment of INEC experts in the capitals of the countries concerned marks the will of the Congolese government to ensure transparent, reliable and credible elections, on time, underlined Didier Manara Linga.
ACP/Lys
